Flashback
There's only so many times she can check her phone before it becomes too much. Fingers circling the stem of the wine glass that has been refilled twice now, she types out another text. The messages had started out teasing, morphed into annoyance, and now were teetering on the edge of concern.
"Another, miss?" asks the bartender, pointing to the nearly-empty glass.
She waves him off, hitting the call button on her phone. "No, thanks." The phone is ringing endlessly. He's not picking up the home phone or his cell.
She wishes she could stick with just being annoyed with him. Yeah, he gets into a zone while he writes, one that doesn't usually let him think outside of the characters and the story. But the entire situation is eerily similar to the one over a dozen years ago and she just needs him to answer his damn phone.
Martha is out – summer stock on the Cape – and Alexis had commandeered the house on the Hamptons for a get-together with her friends before everyone scattered the nation for college. He's alone and…
Kate downs the rest of the white wine, digging in her purse for the cash to pay the bill. Her fingers shake. Clutching her phone, praying for the device to vibrate and let her know he's okay, she hails a cab and gives the driver, a tattooed girl with multicolored hair, Castle's address. She tugs on the hem of her dress – it had seemed like such a good choice that afternoon, standing in front of her closet and wondering just how much she could play with him during dinner – but now it seems way too short.
The ride from the restaurant to SoHo draws out. She resorts to checking his twitter feed for something. Anything. He hasn't updated for days, not since the news that his contract had been renewed for another two books. It's too much time left to her own thoughts.
She pays the cabbie, jumping out of the backseat. She totters on her heels, getting her feet under her before she runs to the door. Eduardo doesn't have a chance to grab the door for her as she dashes past him for the stairs. Her heart is in her throat as she swings around the corner, fumbling with her keys for the right one.
The lights are off. He must have really lost track of time if he didn't even notice the sun setting outside his windows. At least she hoped that was the cause and it wasn't because he was…
He's hunched over the desk, scribbling on a pad of paper, his face so close to the pen that she fears he might stab himself in the eye. The laptop screen is dark; he probably forgot to plug it in and the battery crapped out.
"Castle," she breathes, nearly collapsing against the bookshelves. The relief is overwhelming, weakening her knees and making her purse, the keys, her phone fall to the ground. He looks up, blinking at her in the darkness. "Castle, you're…"
"I'm what?" She watches realization bloom over his face as his eyes scan her body, take in the dress, the half-pinned curls she had labored over. He glances at his watch then back up at her. "Shit. Dinner. Beckett, I'm so sorry."
"I called. I texted." Her voice is rough as she tries to keep it below a shout. "Why didn't you pick up?" she demands, ending on something that sounds faintly like a sob to her own ears.
"My phone's off. I needed to just…"
She cuts him off, stepping into the room. "I was sitting at a restaurant, waiting for you. I couldn't contact you. Do you know what went through my head? What I thought had happened? What worst case scenarios ran through my mind on the ride here?" She spins away, toward the door to the balcony. Air. She needs air.
The city is loud. It's always loud, but tonight sirens scream and street musicians play the saxophone just down the street and planes roar overhead. Her fingers curl around the railing, tipping her head back to look at the sky.
"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I lost track of time."
"I half expected to find Ryan and Esposito at the door." She doesn't turn to look at him. "Maybe Gates but definitely the boys. It was like my mom all over again. I can't do that again, Castle. Not with you."
When his hands slip around her waist, tugging her back against him, she goes willingly. "What can I do to make it up to you?" comes the murmur from next to her ear.
She transfers her grip to his wrist, squeezing it gently. "Dinner. And keeping your phone on from now on."
"Chinese take-out?"
"Only if I get your fortune cookie." She shifts, turning in his arms so she can rest a palm to his cheek. "And your phone?"
"Will always be on."
She only has to push up a little to brush a soft kiss over the corner of his mouth. "Thank you." As she pulls from his hold, kicking her heels off and sliding her arms from the sleeves of the dress in a way that she knows captures his full attention, Kate turns her head to speak over her shoulder. "Order extra pot stickers. I plan to work them off after dinner."
He reaches for her but she tosses the charcoal grey dress at his face.
"Go order our food. Appetizers in five."
She hears him curse when his phone takes too long to turn on. That'll teach him.